Coffee Tasting

21Aug

Some of you may not know that when the Lowcountry Blend was chosen, we held a coffee taste test. We picked between three blends, seeking to determine the most succulent burst of favor of them all. Well, apparently, coffee tasting is the new wine tasting, and it makes sense. With all the flavor options, and the vast interest in this indulgence, it is hard to know what you are drinking, or what you would even like without trying some. If you are like me and think of coffee and scream, “TOO MANY OPTIONS!,” then maybe you should hop on this bandwagon.

NPR has added photos to last week’s All Things Considered feature which shows “coffee snobs are taking all the fun out of a cup of joe.” Listening to this process, it is so involved! Who knew there were SO many options to coffee? And that there are more and less “aggressive” ways of trying it as you “purse your lips and kiss the spoon”. According to Passion for Coffee, coffee can have up to 800 flavors that we can actually detect, while wine only has 400. Why isn’t this mainstream yet?

All of this talk about coffee tasting leaves me with two questions: For those if you who have gone wine tasting, you know you are not technically supposed to swallow the wine (though those of us who may be less cultured don’t listen to that suggestion)? Does the same go for coffee? Is this a formal affair, or doesn’t it have the stigma that wine tasting has? Finally, you know how when you smell lotions, candles or other scents, the clerks tell you to coffee beans in order to clear your nose of all previous smells (to create a “clean slate” if you will?). How does this apply to coffee tasting? Does one smell more coffee? Or just move on to the next because you are already smelling the grounds in the air?…

As I wrap up, it is important to note that our blend has gone through a series of blind taste tests and it prevails over others. Remember that this coffee, although from a Sunoco gas station, is a premium blend. If you doubt it, maybe it is time you host your own coffee tasting. You may be pleasantly surprised to see the Lowcountry Blend demolish your previous notions about gas station coffee.